Milind G
Having played some cricket in school, club and college – true one should play to your strength. Three spinners in the team spoil the balance of the bowling attack, especially when we have part-time spinners like Virendra Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh who can bowl well enough and also bring in a surprise element. Ashwin , Pragyan Ojha and Harbhajan Singh kept bowling short and slow, giving the England batsmen adequate time to adjust to the turn in Mumbai. But Panesar and Swann were, unlike their Indian counterparts, quick through the air and off the pitch. The Indian spinners allowed Englishmen to score over 400 runs which ultimately proved costly.
It is no rocket science that in test cricket, a good team should have two good pace bowlers bowling consistently at 140 plus in tandem to bowl out the opposition and support the spinners. And if the spinners fail, they should help to bowl out the opposition. And especially on foreign tours, as long as we don’t get two to four real fast bowlers bowling at 140 plus, spinners will have limited success and India won’t make a big impact on world cricket. The medium pacers with movement off the pitch and air are just a stop gap arrangement and suitable for one day or Twenty overs cricket. Dhoni’s choice of three spinners in the last test is a big blow to aspiring pace bowlers who will feel what is the point of bending their backs and trying hard on dusty, flat Indian pitches if they are not going to get a chance to play for India.
Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan are good players but Yuvraj and now Zaheer suit one day cricket more than test cricket. Zaheer Khan should now stick to one day cricket and prolong his career and leave test cricket to young fast bowlers who would be very keen bend their backs to make an impact on the opposition. India has a strong batting line-up, with two good pace bowlers and two spinners with a couple of part-timers would make the Indian team more balanced. Indian selectors must think fast as India will be facing good international teams in India and abroad in the coming months.
